What do you think of reading? Do you enjoy it? Do you find it to be boring? I love reading. I mean, I do it every single day. Facebook, chats, restaurant menus, Starbucks, news websites, cinema times, bus schedule, signs, cooking instructions, money, iTunes, texts... the list goes on and on and on. Reading isn't only about books. It happens every day and is so important for language learner. Students who read a lot tend to have many advantages such as:- more accurate spelling- stronger sentence structure- increased vocabulary- better grammar for spoken language and written text and more... So, you can see that reading becomes important if you want to increase your English proficiency. It's true, though, that reading can be quite boring at time. And, it is very tempting to go back to your first language and read, because it's much easier, as well as more interesting. Nevertheless, when you enter university, everything is going to be in English. You'll have to read a number of websites, lecture notes, books, and reports, which are all in English. Therefore, if it is difficult for you to understand the main ideas, you may not be able to write a good essay, or pass a test. In this class you are going to work on a number of thins. Week 1- 200 - 300 words- True / False questions - Skimming / Scanning Week 2- 300 - 400 words- Open questions- Learn how to paraphrase - Guessing meaning from context Week 3- 400 - 500 words- Learn how to summarise- Introduction to making inference Week 4- 600 - 700 words- Inference / True or False / Open / Inference questions- Week 5Exam
Week 1
- 200 - 300 words - True / False questions / Open questions - Skimming / Scanning
Lesson 1: Could you eat 25,000 big macs? Well, this man has over the last 40 years. I think he loved big macs, what do you think?
Lesson 2: The story above was interesting, wasn't it? I can't believe that has eaten so many big macs. I'm not a big fan myself haha. OK, lesson 2, here we go!
Are you a traveller, or a backpacker? Well, I must say I am. I love to go places, especially places off the beaten track (not so popular). Maybe you have taken a holiday, but have you travelled alone? Do you think it's a good idea? I have been to about 40 countries and like travelling with people, but I also like travelling by myself. How about you? Is it safe? Where is safe? Where is dangerous?
We are going to read a blog post titled 'The 10 safest Asian Pacific countries for female travellers.' Before you read, what do you think are the top 3 safest countries for women?
Task 1 - Open the Blog article below and get some more information
Task 2 - Find out the answers to the questions below
1. How much is the female travel industry worth each year? 2. What have some hotels started to do for their female guests? 3. True or False: India doesn't make the list because of an incident which happened earlier in the year.
Look at the infogram
4. Which country is safest in terms of 'night safety'? 5. Which country has the worst personal safety record? 6. Look at New Zealand (NZ) and Vietnam. Why is NZ ranked higher? 7. On the global scale, which country ranks higher?
Look at the safety advice for women section
8. True or False: First time female travellers should pretend to be married? 9. True or False: Female travellers should be careful while travelling on crowded busses? 10. True or False: Travellers can be overcharged for taxis? 11. Do you agree with the fourth piece of advice in this section? Why / Why not? 12. After reading this article what to you agree with and what do you disagree with?
Task 3 - According to the website below, which country is the safest?
Lesson 3 - Let's continue with the travel theme shall we? Travel can be really expensive: flight, hotels, spending money all add to the cost of travelling. So, if you are a student, how can you possibly afford it? Well, you may or may not have heard about 'Couch Surfing.' If has been popular for a long time now, so check out the article below to get some more information.
Task 1 - Read the article below and travelling on a shoestring.
Getting started 1. True or False: There are over 100,000 members. 2. True or False: You can search for places to stay on couch- surfing.com.
Compiling your profile 3. True or False: Profile pics are not important. 4. True or False: Getting recommendations from other hosts helps you find a place to stay.
Just a free hotel room? 5. True or False: The main attraction of couch surfing is a free room. 6. True or False: Learning about new cultures is an important part of couch surfing. 7. Look at this phrase. What does the word 'disregard' mean? "But for students, economic benefits are difficult to disregard"
Safety 8. Look at this phrase. What does 'savvy' mean? "surfers still need to be savvy about who they choose to stay with and what information they share"
Absolute don't for surfers 9. What would give a bad first impression to a host?
And lastly, some dos 10. What did the person find 'repulsive' at first? Did they continue to think that way?
One final question
11. Do you think this article is trustworthy? Why / Why not?
Lesson 4 Gap year. You may not be familiar with a 'Gap Year.' It is popular in the U.K. amongst students. After they graduate high school at 18, students are faced with three options: 1. find a job; 2. go straight to university, 3. travel around the world (Gap Year).
Task 1 - If you took a gap year, where would you go and what would you do? Don't forget to say why? Some more things to think about. - Would you travel to one country, or many? - Would you want a trip with is full of adventure, relaxation or culture, or all? - How much money would you need? - Would you like to find a job? Is that possible?
Task 2 - The website below, gives students lots of information about gap year vacations. There are 6 options available on the page. Look at each one and decide which one you would like to go on.
Task 3 - Your family is not sure about this gap year idea. Write a short message to them telling them why you should be able to do this. You need to convince your family so mention all the good points!!
Things to include: - where you will go, a rough outline of the schedule - what will you gain from this? (adventure, culture, new friends, independence etc) - how much will you need? - Why you think it will be beneficial to you?
Example: "Hi dad, I will graduate this course soon, so I am thinking about going on a trip around the world. I would love to see as many new places as possible, therefore, I'd like to choose trip number one. The trip goes to India, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the U.S. I really think this trip will be a good experience for me, and I will be able to learn a lot of things. That said, it is very expensive. I have saved money myself, but I will still need to borrow around 4,000 pounds. There is also a chance that I can get some part time work in Australia, so I should be able to pay for more of the trip myself.
All the main flights are included in the price, as well as hotels, I would just need to find my own accommodation in some places. There is availability on January 6th, which would be a perfect time to go.
So, can I go? I really think that experiencing these cultures will be great for me. I'll also be able to meet so many new people along the way. Can I go? And, can you help me pay for it?"
Week 2
- 300 - 400 words - Open questions - Learn how to paraphrase - Guessing meaning from context
Lesson 1
When I say the word farm, what words come to mind? - crops - fields - cows - pigs - chickens - cockroaches - sheep wait... did someone say cockroaches? Yes, cockroaches. It is becoming a new and booming business in many countries. But, why cockroaches? What could people possibly do with cockroaches? Eat them? haha.
3. Go to the link on the united nations (UN), what is entomophagy? Also, why are insects preferable to livestock?
4. What are the advantages of farming cockroaches?
5. Where did this article find information about this story?
6. Can you trust this article? Why / Why not? (Think about where they found their information)
More to explore
Do you wanna know how to cook cockroaches properly? Watch it here
Lesson 3
Online movie reviews.
Task 1 - Go to the link below. With your partner, choose a cinema, then look at the films available. Click here
Task 2 - Using the link below, check out the movie reviews, then select the best film to see based on the reviews. Make sure you read the review thoroughly. Click here
*Another good place for movie reviews, and one that I use a lot, is Wikipedia. Just type the movie name into Google, then you'll see the review.
Task 3 - Do a short presentation explaining: - the film you have chosen - the plot - why you chose it - what the reviews said including the comments - Why the reviews made you want to see the film.
Lesson 4 - Making the right decision.
In Malaysia at the moment, cycling is not so popular. There are a number of factors, such as weather, safety, adequate roads, though a number of other countries take cycling very seriously.
Task 1 - Your company has been assigned to tacking the problem of road safety for cyclists. A report from BBC news has been published with 8 suggestions. You have to look at them and choose the best two.
Task 2 - Present Present your suggestions to the rest of the class. Make sure you mention:
- The ideas which you think will not work and why. - The ideas which you think could possibly work and why. - The idea which you think will be the most successful.
Lesson 5
In the first week, we looked at articles around the theme of travel. I hope you found these articles interesting and I hope you were able to find some new and useful words. Don't forget to write these down. In week 2 we are going to build on what we did in week 1. The texts will be a little longer, and there will be more open questions. We will also look at paraphrasing, as this can be a very useful skill to have.
Task 1 - What are your first impressions of the activity of 'Dumpster Diving'? We first found this word last week, but what is it exactly? Who does it? What do they dive for? Why do they do it? Read the article below to find out more.
Welcome to week 3. This week, we are going to be looking at paraphrasing in a little more detail, and introducing summarising, which is directly linked to paraphrasing. I hope you are able to learn some new skills this week.
Bonus Quiz Points Also, don't forget that you are able to do additional reading to gain more points to put towards your quiz results. All you have to do is find something you are interested in reading, then bring it to your teacher. They will give you a few questions (to make sure you have read it), then they will add points to your reading quiz. So, what are you waiting for? Go and get some more points!!
Lesson 1
We all complain about traffic, especially coming to Taylor's. How long does it take you to get here and go home each day? 1 hour, maybe 2? Well, look at the article below. There are some beautiful photographs and a story of how one girl in Tanzania is determined to get an education.
Task 2 - Answer the questions. 1. According to image 1, is Sylvia a lucky girl? Why / Why not? 2. According to image 2, more girls are attending school. T / F 3. In image 3, what does the word 'shrubland' probably mean? a. animals b. plants, trees c. none of the above 4. According to image 4, only students with a clean uniform can attend school. T / F 5. In image 5, what do you think the word 'wade' means? 6. In image 6, what are the advantages and disadvantages of talking along the railway? 7. In image 7, what is the main threat? 8. In image 8, do you think the dangers of travelling to school bother her? Why / Why not? 9. In image 9: Sylvia probably goes to school everyday. T / F 10. In image 10, why do fewer children attend school in Tanzania as opposed to other sub-Saharan African countries? 11. In image 11, the caption says, 'Her stepfather may view her as a financial burden'. Why may he think like this?
This amazing article using beautiful photographs to show you about some truly interesting cultures, which are so different from our own. Read about traditional cultures
Lesson 2 - Exam style reading practice
In this lesson, we will look at some exam style reading. The reading passage is generally quite dry, but will test you on some of the reading skills you will need for the final exam, as well as general academic life.
Task 1 - Before you read Exam reading is generally more technical, and consists of a lot more true or false and multiple choice questions. You are not often asked for your opinion, but tested on your understanding of the text. Therefore, before you read, remember that this style of reading is all about finding the right information.
The questions and reading material are taken from NorthStar: Focus and reading and writing pages 25 - 30. Published 1998 by Addison Wesley Longman.
1. Helene McQuade has become a telecommuter. 2. More and more people in the United States are telecommuting. 3. Telecommuting is the perfect solution for all employees. 4. Some employers think there are problems with telecommuting. 5. Telecommuting is helpful to the environment. 6. Socialising will increase with telecommuting.
For questions 1 - 10, choose between a,b or c. 1. How did Helene McQuade feel about her job in the city? a. She didn't like her boss. b. She didn't like her job. c. She didn't like driving to work.
Test
2. What new group is staying home these days? a. People who are unemployed. b. People who have started their own business. c. Telecommuters.
3. What arrangements do telecommuters make with their employers? a. They do all their work at home. b. They do some work at home, some in the office. c. They do all their work in the office. 4. Which is not needed for a telecommuter's home office? a. Paper shredder. b. Fax machine. c. Telephone.
5. Why might employees want to telecommute? a. They don't have to see their boss so often. b. They can find better child-care services. c. They can have better work schedules.
6. Why might employees not want to telecommute? a. They make less money. b. They don't spend as much time with their families. c. They may work more.
7. Why might employers dislike telecommuting? a. They have less control over their employees. b. They can't easily call this employees on the telephone. c. They have face-to-face meetings.
8. Why might employers benefit from telecommuting? a. They will need fewer employees. b. They will keep their employees. c. They can retrain employees more easily.
9. With telecommuting, what will happen to cars? a. They will be more common on the highways. b. They will use more gasoline. c. They will produce less air pollution.
10. What is a disadvantage of telecommuting? a. Risk on crumbling cities. b. More business meetings to attend. c. Communication with e-mail.
Lesson 3 - Introduction to Paraphrasing.
This is such an important skill, and something that you will have to do a lot of when you get to your degree course. Paraphrasing just means, rewriting something that has already been written in your own words. For example: when you are researching an essay for your degree, you may find an essay or website with some information that you want to use. Of course, you can't copy it word for word, but you can paraphrase it.
The PDF below is quite long, but it will take you through some of the stages from basic paraphrasing to more complex.
Note* The last chapter has not been finished yet. I will update it soon.
She is considered lucky as it is estimated that 29 million primary school-aged children, more than half of them girls, are out of school in Africa.
Possible ways to change the sentence. 1. She is lucky as it is thought that 29 million elementary school kids, many of them girls, cannot go to school
2. Around Africa, many girls are not able to go to school, so she is lucky to have the chance to go.
3. As 29 million young children are not able to go to school in Africa, Sylvia is fortunate to have the chance to go.
Task 2 - Paraphrase this sentence
According to UNESCO, the transition to secondary education across sub-sarahan africa is 62% for girls, but as low as 32% in Tanzania, where secondary schooling is not free
Lesson 4 - Headers.
This is a very common question, and you will usually find it on many reading exams from TOEFL to IELTS to our own IEN exam. So, it is a good idea to prepare for this style of question. There are two websites below, which will help you to practice with this style of questioning.
In the first week, we looked at articles around the theme of travel. I hope you found these articles interesting and I hope you were able to find some new and useful words. Don't forget to write these down. In week 2 we are going to build on what we did in week 1. The texts will be a little longer, and there will be more open questions. We will also look at paraphrasing, as this can be a very useful skill to have.
Task 1 - What are your first impressions of the activity of 'Dumpster Diving'? We first found this word last week, but what is it exactly? Who does it? What do they dive for? Why do they do it? Read the article below to find out more.
This is the last week of our course, so let's try it without dictionaries shall we? We only have little over a week before the final exam, so we are going to mix up the reading activities between online- and exam-based texts.
Almost Home
Lesson 1 - Haafizah's story. This is a little different from what you have been reading, as it is a narrative story. The story is an adaptation of a real life account.
Lesson 2 - Here is a story which will be close to your heart. It is about sleep deprivation, which means not getting enough sleep. I'm sure you can identify with this!! Check out the article below. You can download it as a word doc or PDF if you like. There are header, missing sentences and true / false questions, so the format is similar to the final exam.
Lesson 3 - Does where you sit in class matter? Think about it for a second. Do you usually aim to sit at the front? the back? somewhere in the middle? Well, the article you will read in this lesson makes some interesting claims about where a student sits and compares them to academic performance. I wonder if you will continue to sit in the same place after you read it.
This is your last week, as you will have your final exams very soon. In order to get ready for it, we need to look at some practice papers. The final exam will be quite difficult for a few reasons.
1 - There are two texts to read. 2 - Each text has around 10 questions. 3 - You will have to answer various questions, such as headers, missing sentences, short answers, multiple choice and true or false. 4 - You only have a short amount of time to complete all of this. 5 - You will not be allowed to use a dictionary.
Here are a few tips for you to use while doing the reading section of the exam.
1 - Try not to read every single word - This will take a long time, which you do not have. Instead, read the question, find the key words, then skim and scan to find the answer.
2 - Header questions - Read the topic sentence of the paragraph, as they usually give you the main idea of the it, and will allow you to choose the correct header
3 - Missing sentence questions - Read the sentence before and after the missing sentence. You will find context clues to help you answer the questions.
4 - True or False & Multiple choice questions - These questions require you to understand specific information about the text. You will have to read the question carefully in order to find the correct answer.
5 - Short answer questions - These require you to write a short answer, usually a full sentence. Try not to plagerise!
6 - READ THE QUESTION - Possibly the most important thing for any exam are the questions. Take an extra minute to read the question and any possible choices. If you do not understand the question, you may look for the wrong answer in the text.
Lesson 1 - Each of you (the student) will find some questions easy and some questions difficult. So, for this lesson you are going to choose the question style that you would like to practice. (I hope the internet works!)
Below you will find a number of questions styles that you could find on your final exam. Click on the style you would like to practice and have a go!
Yes, reading can be tough, easy and fun... sometimes! If you need more practice check out the links below. They will help you to improve your reading proficiency.
General reading The first website is called 'Reading for Everyone.' You can choose your level and pick out a number of different articles to read. The articles are an easy introduction and come with answers, so you can test yourself.
Exam reading can be very different to general reading. It is a lot more technical and requires you to really understand the text in more detail. Check out the links below as they will take you to an excellent website with some great reading exercises.
Table of Contents
What do you think of reading? Do you enjoy it? Do you find it to be boring? I love reading. I mean, I do it every single day. Facebook, chats, restaurant menus, Starbucks, news websites, cinema times, bus schedule, signs, cooking instructions, money, iTunes, texts... the list goes on and on and on.
Reading isn't only about books. It happens every day and is so important for language learner. Students who read a lot tend to have many advantages such as:- more accurate spelling- stronger sentence structure- increased vocabulary- better grammar for spoken language and written text and more...
So, you can see that reading becomes important if you want to increase your English proficiency. It's true, though, that reading can be quite boring at time. And, it is very tempting to go back to your first language and read, because it's much easier, as well as more interesting. Nevertheless, when you enter university, everything is going to be in English. You'll have to read a number of websites, lecture notes, books, and reports, which are all in English. Therefore, if it is difficult for you to understand the main ideas, you may not be able to write a good essay, or pass a test.
In this class you are going to work on a number of thins.
Week 1- 200 - 300 words- True / False questions - Skimming / Scanning
Week 2- 300 - 400 words- Open questions- Learn how to paraphrase - Guessing meaning from context
Week 3- 400 - 500 words- Learn how to summarise- Introduction to making inference
Week 4- 600 - 700 words- Inference / True or False / Open / Inference questions-
Week 5Exam
Week 1
- 200 - 300 words- True / False questions / Open questions
- Skimming / Scanning
Read about it
More to explore: Need more vocal and phrases? Check out the links below
Phrasal verbs - Click here
Still hungry? Check out some food related idioms.
Idioms -
Click here
Lesson 2: The story above was interesting, wasn't it? I can't believe that has eaten so many big macs. I'm not a big fan myself haha. OK, lesson 2, here we go!
Are you a traveller, or a backpacker? Well, I must say I am. I love to go places, especially places off the beaten track (not so popular). Maybe you have taken a holiday, but have you travelled alone? Do you think it's a good idea? I have been to about 40 countries and like travelling with people, but I also like travelling by myself. How about you? Is it safe? Where is safe? Where is dangerous?
We are going to read a blog post titled 'The 10 safest Asian Pacific countries for female travellers.' Before you read, what do you think are the top 3 safest countries for women?
Task 1 - Open the Blog article below and get some more information
Click here
Task 2 - Find out the answers to the questions below
1. How much is the female travel industry worth each year?
2. What have some hotels started to do for their female guests?
3. True or False: India doesn't make the list because of an incident which happened earlier in the year.
Look at the infogram
4. Which country is safest in terms of 'night safety'?
5. Which country has the worst personal safety record?
6. Look at New Zealand (NZ) and Vietnam. Why is NZ ranked higher?
7. On the global scale, which country ranks higher?
Look at the safety advice for women section
8. True or False: First time female travellers should pretend to be married?
9. True or False: Female travellers should be careful while travelling on crowded busses?
10. True or False: Travellers can be overcharged for taxis?
11. Do you agree with the fourth piece of advice in this section? Why / Why not?
12. After reading this article what to you agree with and what do you disagree with?
Task 3 - According to the website below, which country is the safest?
Click here
1. Why do you think Singapore is not on this list?
2. Which list is more reliable?
More to explore: Travel related words
Click here
Lesson 3 - Let's continue with the travel theme shall we? Travel can be really expensive: flight, hotels, spending money all add to the cost of travelling. So, if you are a student, how can you possibly afford it? Well, you may or may not have heard about 'Couch Surfing.' If has been popular for a long time now, so check out the article below to get some more information.
Task 1 - Read the article below and travelling on a shoestring.
Read it here
Getting started
1. True or False: There are over 100,000 members.
2. True or False: You can search for places to stay on couch-
surfing.com.
Compiling your profile
3. True or False: Profile pics are not important.
4. True or False: Getting recommendations from other hosts helps you
find a place to stay.
Just a free hotel room?
5. True or False: The main attraction of couch surfing is a free room.
6. True or False: Learning about new cultures is an important part of couch surfing.
7. Look at this phrase. What does the word 'disregard' mean?
"But for students, economic benefits are difficult to disregard"
Safety
8. Look at this phrase. What does 'savvy' mean?
"surfers still need to be savvy about who they choose to stay with and what information they share"
Absolute don't for surfers
9. What would give a bad first impression to a host?
And lastly, some dos
10. What did the person find 'repulsive' at first? Did they continue to think that way?
One final question
11. Do you think this article is trustworthy? Why / Why not?
Lesson 4
Gap year. You may not be familiar with a 'Gap Year.' It is popular in the U.K. amongst students. After they graduate high school at 18, students are faced with three options: 1. find a job; 2. go straight to university, 3. travel around the world (Gap Year).
Task 1 - If you took a gap year, where would you go and what would you do? Don't forget to say why?
Some more things to think about.
- Would you travel to one country, or many?
- Would you want a trip with is full of adventure, relaxation or culture, or all?
- How much money would you need?
- Would you like to find a job? Is that possible?
Task 2 - The website below, gives students lots of information about gap year vacations. There are 6 options available on the page. Look at each one and decide which one you would like to go on.
Read it here
Task 3 - Your family is not sure about this gap year idea. Write a short message to them telling them why you should be able to do this. You need to convince your family so mention all the good points!!
Things to include:
- where you will go, a rough outline of the schedule
- what will you gain from this? (adventure, culture, new friends, independence etc)
- how much will you need?
- Why you think it will be beneficial to you?
Write your message here
Example:
"Hi dad, I will graduate this course soon, so I am thinking about going on a trip around the world. I would love to see as many new places as possible, therefore, I'd like to choose trip number one. The trip goes to India, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the U.S. I really think this trip will be a good experience for me, and I will be able to learn a lot of things. That said, it is very expensive. I have saved money myself, but I will still need to borrow around 4,000 pounds. There is also a chance that I can get some part time work in Australia, so I should be able to pay for more of the trip myself.
All the main flights are included in the price, as well as hotels, I would just need to find my own accommodation in some places. There is availability on January 6th, which would be a perfect time to go.
So, can I go? I really think that experiencing these cultures will be great for me. I'll also be able to meet so many new people along the way. Can I go? And, can you help me pay for it?"
Week 2
- 300 - 400 words- Open questions
- Learn how to paraphrase
- Guessing meaning from context
When I say the word farm, what words come to mind?
- crops
- fields
- cows
- pigs
- chickens
- cockroaches
- sheep
wait... did someone say cockroaches? Yes, cockroaches. It is becoming a new and booming business in many countries. But, why cockroaches? What could people possibly do with cockroaches? Eat them? haha.
Task 1
Read it here
Task 2
1. What happened at 'The great escape?"
2. What does the word 'critters' refer to?
3. Go to the link on the united nations (UN), what is entomophagy? Also, why are insects preferable to livestock?
4. What are the advantages of farming cockroaches?
5. Where did this article find information about this story?
6. Can you trust this article? Why / Why not? (Think about where they found their information)
More to explore
Do you wanna know how to cook cockroaches properly?
Watch it here
Lesson 3
Online movie reviews.
Task 1 - Go to the link below. With your partner, choose a cinema, then look at the films available.
Click here
Task 2 - Using the link below, check out the movie reviews, then select the best film to see based on the reviews. Make sure you read the review thoroughly.
Click here
*Another good place for movie reviews, and one that I use a lot, is Wikipedia. Just type the movie name into Google, then you'll see the review.
Task 3 - Do a short presentation explaining:
- the film you have chosen
- the plot
- why you chose it
- what the reviews said including the comments
- Why the reviews made you want to see the film.
Lesson 4 - Making the right decision.
In Malaysia at the moment, cycling is not so popular. There are a number of factors, such as weather, safety, adequate roads, though a number of other countries take cycling very seriously.
Task 1 - Your company has been assigned to tacking the problem of road safety for cyclists. A report from BBC news has been published with 8 suggestions. You have to look at them and choose the best two.
Click here to read the article
Task 2 - Present
Present your suggestions to the rest of the class. Make sure you mention:
- The ideas which you think will not work and why.
- The ideas which you think could possibly work and why.
- The idea which you think will be the most successful.
Lesson 5
In the first week, we looked at articles around the theme of travel. I hope you found these articles interesting and I hope you were able to find some new and useful words. Don't forget to write these down. In week 2 we are going to build on what we did in week 1. The texts will be a little longer, and there will be more open questions. We will also look at paraphrasing, as this can be a very useful skill to have.
Task 1 -
What are your first impressions of the activity of 'Dumpster Diving'? We first found this word last week, but what is it exactly? Who does it? What do they dive for? Why do they do it? Read the article below to find out more.
Read it here
Lesson 6 - White lies
How to spot a liar
Read it here
Task 1 - Using the information on the site above, how do you know when someone
The most common white lies
Read it here
Task 2 -
Before you read
1. What is a white lie?
2. Why would a person tell a white lie?
After you read
3. Does the article support telling white lies?
4. In what situations might telling a white lie be beneficial?
5. Have you ever used any of the white lies listed?
6. Now you have read the article, do you believe white lies are important?
More to explore
If you feel you need to be challenged more, or want to try a challenge, try out the link below. The website
Click here
Week 3
Bonus Quiz Points
Also, don't forget that you are able to do additional reading to gain more points to put towards your quiz results. All you have to do is find something you are interested in reading, then bring it to your teacher. They will give you a few questions (to make sure you have read it), then they will add points to your reading quiz. So, what are you waiting for? Go and get some more points!!
Lesson 1
We all complain about traffic, especially coming to Taylor's. How long does it take you to get here and go home each day? 1 hour, maybe 2? Well, look at the article below. There are some beautiful photographs and a story of how one girl in Tanzania is determined to get an education.
Task 1
Read it here
Task 2 - Answer the questions.
1. According to image 1, is Sylvia a lucky girl? Why / Why not?
2. According to image 2, more girls are attending school. T / F
3. In image 3, what does the word 'shrubland' probably mean?
a. animals
b. plants, trees
c. none of the above
4. According to image 4, only students with a clean uniform can attend school. T / F
5. In image 5, what do you think the word 'wade' means?
6. In image 6, what are the advantages and disadvantages of talking along the railway?
7. In image 7, what is the main threat?
8. In image 8, do you think the dangers of travelling to school bother her? Why / Why not?
9. In image 9: Sylvia probably goes to school everyday. T / F
10. In image 10, why do fewer children attend school in Tanzania as opposed to other sub-Saharan African countries?
11. In image 11, the caption says, 'Her stepfather may view her as a financial burden'. Why may he think like this?
Put your answers here
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More to explore
Read about rural schools in Mexico
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If you are interested...
This amazing article using beautiful photographs to show you about some truly interesting cultures, which are so different from our own.
Read about traditional cultures
Lesson 2 - Exam style reading practice
In this lesson, we will look at some exam style reading. The reading passage is generally quite dry, but will test you on some of the reading skills you will need for the final exam, as well as general academic life.
Task 1 - Before you read
Exam reading is generally more technical, and consists of a lot more true or false and multiple choice questions. You are not often asked for your opinion, but tested on your understanding of the text. Therefore, before you read, remember that this style of reading is all about finding the right information.
The questions and reading material are taken from NorthStar: Focus and reading and writing pages 25 - 30. Published 1998 by Addison Wesley Longman.
Task 2 - Read the questions
Click here to take the quiz online
For questions 1 - 6, answer true or false
1. Helene McQuade has become a telecommuter.
2. More and more people in the United States are telecommuting.
3. Telecommuting is the perfect solution for all employees.
4. Some employers think there are problems with telecommuting.
5. Telecommuting is helpful to the environment.
6. Socialising will increase with telecommuting.
For questions 1 - 10, choose between a,b or c.
1. How did Helene McQuade feel about her job in the city?
a. She didn't like her boss.
b. She didn't like her job.
c. She didn't like driving to work.
2. What new group is staying home these days?
a. People who are unemployed.
b. People who have started their own business.
c. Telecommuters.
3. What arrangements do telecommuters make with their employers?
a. They do all their work at home.
b. They do some work at home, some in the office.
c. They do all their work in the office.
4. Which is not needed for a telecommuter's home office?
a. Paper shredder.
b. Fax machine.
c. Telephone.
5. Why might employees want to telecommute?
a. They don't have to see their boss so often.
b. They can find better child-care services.
c. They can have better work schedules.
6. Why might employees not want to telecommute?
a. They make less money.
b. They don't spend as much time with their families.
c. They may work more.
7. Why might employers dislike telecommuting?
a. They have less control over their employees.
b. They can't easily call this employees on the telephone.
c. They have face-to-face meetings.
8. Why might employers benefit from telecommuting?
a. They will need fewer employees.
b. They will keep their employees.
c. They can retrain employees more easily.
9. With telecommuting, what will happen to cars?
a. They will be more common on the highways.
b. They will use more gasoline.
c. They will produce less air pollution.
10. What is a disadvantage of telecommuting?
a. Risk on crumbling cities.
b. More business meetings to attend.
c. Communication with e-mail.
Lesson 3 - Introduction to Paraphrasing.
This is such an important skill, and something that you will have to do a lot of when you get to your degree course. Paraphrasing just means, rewriting something that has already been written in your own words. For example: when you are researching an essay for your degree, you may find an essay or website with some information that you want to use. Of course, you can't copy it word for word, but you can paraphrase it.
The PDF below is quite long, but it will take you through some of the stages from basic paraphrasing to more complex.
Note* The last chapter has not been finished yet. I will update it soon.
Download the PDF here.
Task 1 - Paraphrase this sentence
She is considered lucky as it is estimated that 29 million primary school-aged children, more than half of them girls, are out of school in Africa.
Possible ways to change the sentence.
1. She is lucky as it is thought that 29 million elementary school kids, many of them girls, cannot go to school
2. Around Africa, many girls are not able to go to school, so she is lucky to have the chance to go.
3. As 29 million young children are not able to go to school in Africa, Sylvia is fortunate to have the chance to go.
Task 2 - Paraphrase this sentence
According to UNESCO, the transition to secondary education across sub-sarahan africa is 62% for girls, but as low as 32% in Tanzania, where secondary schooling is not free
Lesson 4 - Headers.
This is a very common question, and you will usually find it on many reading exams from TOEFL to IELTS to our own IEN exam. So, it is a good idea to prepare for this style of question. There are two websites below, which will help you to practice with this style of questioning.
Practice it here
Practice it here
Lesson 5
In the first week, we looked at articles around the theme of travel. I hope you found these articles interesting and I hope you were able to find some new and useful words. Don't forget to write these down. In week 2 we are going to build on what we did in week 1. The texts will be a little longer, and there will be more open questions. We will also look at paraphrasing, as this can be a very useful skill to have.
Task 1 -
What are your first impressions of the activity of 'Dumpster Diving'? We first found this word last week, but what is it exactly? Who does it? What do they dive for? Why do they do it? Read the article below to find out more.
Read it here
Week 4
Lesson 1 - Haafizah's story. This is a little different from what you have been reading, as it is a narrative story. The story is an adaptation of a real life account.
Lesson 2 - Here is a story which will be close to your heart. It is about sleep deprivation, which means not getting enough sleep. I'm sure you can identify with this!! Check out the article below. You can download it as a word doc or PDF if you like. There are header, missing sentences and true / false questions, so the format is similar to the final exam.
Click here to read the article online
Lesson 3 - Does where you sit in class matter? Think about it for a second. Do you usually aim to sit at the front? the back? somewhere in the middle? Well, the article you will read in this lesson makes some interesting claims about where a student sits and compares them to academic performance. I wonder if you will continue to sit in the same place after you read it.
Download the PDF below
Week 5
1 - There are two texts to read.
2 - Each text has around 10 questions.
3 - You will have to answer various questions, such as headers, missing sentences, short answers, multiple choice and true or false.
4 - You only have a short amount of time to complete all of this.
5 - You will not be allowed to use a dictionary.
Here are a few tips for you to use while doing the reading section of the exam.
1 - Try not to read every single word - This will take a long time, which you do not have. Instead, read the question, find the key words, then skim and scan to find the answer.
2 - Header questions - Read the topic sentence of the paragraph, as they usually give you the main idea of the it, and will allow you to choose the correct header
3 - Missing sentence questions - Read the sentence before and after the missing sentence. You will find context clues to help you answer the questions.
4 - True or False & Multiple choice questions - These questions require you to understand specific information about the text. You will have to read the question carefully in order to find the correct answer.
5 - Short answer questions - These require you to write a short answer, usually a full sentence. Try not to plagerise!
6 - READ THE QUESTION - Possibly the most important thing for any exam are the questions. Take an extra minute to read the question and any possible choices. If you do not understand the question, you may look for the wrong answer in the text.
Lesson 1 - Each of you (the student) will find some questions easy and some questions difficult. So, for this lesson you are going to choose the question style that you would like to practice. (I hope the internet works!)
Below you will find a number of questions styles that you could find on your final exam. Click on the style you would like to practice and have a go!
1. Click here to practice header questions
2. Click here to practice more header questions
3. Click here to practice multiple choice questions
4. Click here to practice true / false / not given questions
5. Click here to practice the difference between false and not given answers
6. Click here for multiple choice questions
7. Click here to practice meaning from context questions
If you have any questions, just ask your teacher.
If you want to practice headers, or true / false / not given questions, you can download the document below.
Lesson 2 -
General reading
The first website is called 'Reading for Everyone.' You can choose your level and pick out a number of different articles to read. The articles are an easy introduction and come with answers, so you can test yourself.
Click here
Academic / exam reading
Exam reading can be very different to general reading. It is a lot more technical and requires you to really understand the text in more detail. Check out the links below as they will take you to an excellent website with some great reading exercises.
Medium difficultly
Reading practice 1
Reading practice 2
Reading practice 3
http://www.csumathsuccess.org/reading_skills_1
http://en.sommer-sommer.com/braintest/?data=NzIsMjg%3D
http://www.ted.com/talks/tom_thum_the_orchestra_in_my_mouth.html
Create a TED style event in the English class.
Which restaurant is the cheapest / most expensive?
Mini research: computer or book? Which is a better way to learn?
http://film-english.com/2013/04/04/paper-is-not-dead/
Paper vs iPad related articles
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/5-reasons-why-people-getting-212527746.html
http://film-english.com/2013/03/20/be-happy/
Articles related to emotion / happiness
http://film-english.com/2013/01/31/paperman/
Comparative videos
50 people one question
http://www.ted.com/talks/kid_president_i_think_we_all_need_a_pep_talk.html
What adults can learn from Kids: With transcript
http://www.ted.com/talks/adora_svitak.html
3 A's with transcript
http://www.ted.com/talks/neil_pasricha_the_3_a_s_of_awesome.html
Yoyo master with transcript
http://www.ted.com/talks/black_my_journey_to_yo_yo_mastery.html
Refugee worker with transcript -
http://www.ted.com/talks/cameron_sinclair_the_refugees_of_boom_and_bust.html
Escape from North Korea
http://www.ted.com/talks/hyeonseo_lee_my_escape_from_north_korea.html
Bionic arm
http://www.wimp.com/bionicarms/
5 ways to become a better listener
http://www.ted.com/playlists/92/listen_up.html
Girls heroic 7km walk to school each day
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23239800
$6,000 phone bill because of Facebook
http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/teen-hit-with--6-000-bill-using-facebook-during-nyc-vacation-185451599.html
Tell a story that is: